Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Hayden D — 16 Oct 2016

The Dark Knight Rises and So Can You!

Christopher Nolan is back with more philosophic undertones in the final chapter of his Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises. In the trilogy's second installment, The Dark Knight, some critics connected themes of that film to the war in Iraq. In contrast, The Dark Knight Rises is themed around the war going on within us every single day.

The movie begins with the villainous Bane (Tom Hardy) setting the initial direction of the plot. While Batman (Christian Bale) comes out of retirement to defeat Bane, the actual mastermind villain lurks just off-screen. Perhaps sometimes in our own lives we feel that we know what the problem is, when actually it is just a distraction from the real issue.

The darkness portrayed in this film is a message of how dark the world is currently getting around us. Many may feel that they just can't do it anymore. Life may seem too hard. Some may feel that they are stuck in a pit of a prison just as Batman actually was in the film. Just when all hope seems lost and you don't know how Batman is going to get out and save the day, the motivation comes from the other prisoners as they chant. Batman asks a wise man in the prison what they are chanting. He says, "It means 'rise'." This motivation continues with Batman as he goes on to fight his enemies.

This film is a message to all that as our world grows ever darker, we can rise up and defeat the darkness with the light. I left the film feeling motivated. Now whenever I feel myself getting theoretically thrown into a pit I remember the motivating chant of Batman's fellow prisoners. "Rise!".